A Collection of Multiverses
by waterlily12
Summary: A series of unrelated AUs. #4: Pirates, Lu thought, were supposed to be eccentric. They don't just go 'Arrrr' and 'Walk the plank'. If she was going to join a pirate crew, she was going to join one that wasn't so stereotypical. Ciel wondered if his charge understood that it was supposed to be the PIRATES who looked for recruits, not the other way around.
1. The Witch Hunt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword**

* * *

 _ **Summary:** __There's a difference between Witches and Magicians, though not many humans actually cared. In their eyes, this race were filled vile creatures that had longer life spans just because they could use magic. One incident leading to the next and the so-called Witch Hunt begins._

* * *

Dread seemed to linger in the otherwise peaceful night of a town that contradicted the very nature of nightfall. Most houses didn't emit any light, but Aisha could see light illuminating from a window every so often. Probably because of the commotion that she was causing.

Aisha's breath was nothing but hasty. It was a sign of fatigue, she knew, but she just couldn't _stop_ \- or she might get -

"This way!"

\- Suppressing a gasp in fear of them hearing it, she forced her feet to a halt and pressed her back against the wall, turning it into her hiding place. She couldn't let them find her, or she might as well be dead. And she can't have that. Not yet.

Every footstep that came closer and closer resonated with the beating of her frantic heart. She tried to calm down, hoping that the very organ that keeps her alive wouldn't cause her her capture and a life worst than death.

As Aisha saw shadows around the corner, she pressed closer to the wall, willing herself to become one with the stone structure. She didn't even as much as dare to _breathe_.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the light that guided her pursuers' path through the dark streets of Ruben.

 _Don't come this way, don't come this way!_ She pleaded in her mind but to her utmost dread, the light became brighter, shooing the shadow that had aided her concealment.

She gritted her teeth, she was left with no other choice. And so, she utter a string of foreign - _ancient_ \- words under her breath while she wrote intricate symbols of the unknown language in the air.

She would have to be fast, Aisha thought.

"Over there!"

Despite the light of her spell giving her position away, Aisha was determined to finish it.

Magic was restricted, that she knew. Anyone who was seen using it without the knowledge of the authority would be charged with the crime of harming normal citizens; therefore, they would be captured, have their magic restrained to be only be used when the master gives permission, and a mark branded upon their skin for the world to look at in disgust.

Unconsciously, her free hand went across to grasp onto her uppermost forearm to steady her frantic casting when she saw light just around the corner. (And one would _think_ that light was a source of hope, but it was the opposite in her situation.)

 _Nonono -_ She can't be caught _now_.

"Stop! Don't let her cast that spell!" One of her pursuers commanded.

Hunters, Aisha's mind registered deep loathing for these people. They hunt down Magicians (not witches because she would be damned to not even known her own ethnicity) and bring them to the tyrant who enforced that god forsaken law that forbid magic through all of Rurensia province.

The light source in their hands - a transparent orb that held a sphere of light (funny how they despise her kind but still rely on magical tools) - cast upon her figure, revealing what could have been a clean hooded white coat (had it been properly washed) that seemed a tad bit too big for her. The hood pulled up to hide the caster's unique hair color, which was of violet as revealed by the even bangs that failed to stay hidden. Eyes of a lighter shade concentrated almost desperately for the forming spell -

"Put the magic restraint on her!"

\- just as some of them lunged at her with weapons, she finished -

"Tempest!"

\- A violent gale came to her aid, pushing them back, cracked through the glass orbs, and cut off their light source while blowing her hood off, revealing a messy bun of violet tresses (it would have been neat if she had the time to car).

At that instant, her forearm flared up as if set on fire, but she ignored it in favor of running for her life. Albeit the sight of blood did cause her momentary delay - she was feeling nauseous at the prospect of spilling gore and cutting off limbs.

The spell Aisha had used was _supposed_ to reduce their light source, not harming them. But... in that moment when they found her like a predator would to a prey, she unintentionally added more power to it. Even though they were after her life, she couldn't help but feel the weight of regret on her shoulder bringing her down when she saw that her gale had taken some of their lives. So, with a silent apology and prayer to whatever god that would listen, she made her escape once again.

Aisha knew that she couldn't linger around any longer, for that last spell used more of her already depleted energy reservoir. For days, she hadn't had a wink of sleep and scarcely any time to eat (not that she had anything edible to begin with in the first place, but that wasn't the point). It was not good on her part.

More Hunters appeared in front of her, and this time, they appeared to have magicians among their ranks to cast up barriers.

She knew there were two kinds of magicians that were registered under the tyrant's rule. The first being magicians who willingly sided with the tyrant, thus gaining favors, and the second, those who refused at first but were condemned to slavery because they were no match.

With just a glance, she judged that these magicians belong to the latter category because some other hunters were barking orders at they would at _slaves._

Aisha gritted her teeth and drew her wand from her belt, extending long it into a winged staff as she pulled. Gathering up what magic she could spare, she focused on the head of her staff and then -

 _Swish!_

\- she thrust it forward.

The head, where the sparkling energy of magic was concentrated into, allowed the wings to move, extend, and wrap around the staff's entire length while spinning in doing so. As it cut through the air like a bullet, a violet hue outline what now looks like a very sharpened - and very long - _lethal_ needle.

The speed at which it came into contact with the barrier was much greater than the strength she'd used to launched the staff into action with. In a matter of seconds, the barrier cracked and broke into thousands of pieces, allowing the lethal staff to pierce whatever is behind - which were her to-be capturers.

Blood splattered across Aisha's pale complexion as she ran through while calling back her staff after it managed to skew some of her pursuers. She send another silent prayer to the heavens above and close her eyes, trying hard to ignore the painful sensation that was burning up on her forearm.

 _God_ , it was like sandpaper rubbing against an open wound that had been stained with salt, yet she was _used_ to it.

She didn't want to see what she had done. Those people may have deserved death but it wasn't enough reason to soothe her of the fact that the lives she had taken were stacking up day by day. They may have families and loved ones to go back to but because of her, they won't be seeing them anytime soon.

Aisha didn't know how long she had been running nor did she check if she was still being chase - her best guess was that she still was. It wasn't until she tripped over something that she opened her eyes. She allow a yelp to escape her lips before her balance tipped her forward and colliding herself with the cobblestone path.

She cursed her foul luck that night and sat up.

Noticing that she still have her staff out and the blood that drip from it, she huffed exasperatedly against a stray hair strand. She then wiped - though a bit hesitant in the beginning - the blood off with the fabric of her coat and willed it to diminish in size till it look like a baton before strapping it back to her belt. She wasn't going to let anyone see her with a staff - with blood on it to boot. That was just yelling in their face that she was a magician - and a killer.

Suddenly detecting a presence before her, Aisha let her gaze fly forward and widening her eyes in an instant after. What stared back at her were bewildered crimson orbs. (If Aisha was to be more specific, it was blood crimson, the color of blood that she had seen many times before - though it seemed to look better than actual blood.)

 _Did he…_ She wondered silently if the young man holding a bucket before her saw her staff and what became of it. Her hand went back to the weapon she had just stow away. If he saw, then she would have to -

"Where did she go?!"

"We can't let that witch get away!"

\- "I'm a _magician,_ people _!_ " Aisha found herself mumbling indignantly before clamping her gloved hand over her mouth, her violet orbs widening with horror at what she had just admitted out loud. Her worries reflected in her eye as she looked at the young man whose expression seemed unfathomable

Great, now she really have to make sure he was kept mum.

With footsteps rapidly approaching in her direction, she decided not to dawdle any longer -

"Wha - !"

\- However, it wasn't her who reacted first. Without warning, the boy had pulled her up by the arm and roughly lead her into the small house that they were in front of.

Forcing her to the wall next to the door, the red haired male shut the door securely and all was still. Even she, who was on the run, who didn't know what the boy's intentions were, was silent despite wanting nothing but to escape.

"Look, blood!"

Aisha silently cursed under her breath, knowing that she must have been careless when she was wiping her staff clean.

"Check the residence! Knock on every door!"

Her breath caught in her throat at the command. They were in front of the place she was hiding in, which meant they would come knocking on this door first and they would see her and -

"Calm down."

\- Aisha's supposed savior advised, reading her panicking mind.

And against all her will to knock the guy senseless and flee out the back, Aisha obeyed and stayed in place. She didn't know _why_ she had complied. Was it because of how leveled his voice was that told her to trust him? That and many other thoughts were thrown out the window when a not-so-subtle knock came from the door. "Oi, open up!"

Her hand went to her waist to retrieve her staff, but the boy put his hand over hers, therefore halting her. She immediately looked at him, seeing him silently shaking his head and mouthing a few words that she read as 'it'll make it worst.'

 _Better than getting caught._ Aisha found herself retorting in her head. She had came too far, done too many to have all her efforts be naught in the end. She _have_ to get away from here!

"Open the door or we'll force break it down!"

 _Creak..._

\- Alarmed, but she was prepared for the worst when the redhead obliged and turned open the knob. However, to her confusion, he stayed in front, blocking the hunters from entering.

"Hello good sir," He feigned a yawn of fatigue. "What's with all the commotion in the middle of the night?"

"Have a _witch_ ," The hunter uttered the word in disgust. "A girl wearing a white coat, purple hair and eyes, been seen running around here?"

"A witch?" He cocked a brow and this was when she braced for the worst. He was going to turn her in, she knew it. What with the price on her head more than enough to buy 100 acres of land and probably a castle in it. He would be able to live a good life without a drop of sweat!

"Nah, none here. Why would you think there's a witch here?" The answer made the magician in question look to the opened door that helped blocked her from view.

"Because we were hot on a trail of one and we found blood right in front of this house." The hunter retorted impatiently.

The other leaned against the door frame, sporting an inquiring look. "Ever thought of the witch performing a teleportation spell? I mean I would if I knew how to use magic. Beats walking all the way to work and back - saves me sleep too!"

"She couldn't perform such a risky spell since that mark will prevent that." The hunter explained and she could hear the sneer in his voice. "So you haven't seen anyone that fit my description?"

"Nope, I was asleep before you woke me up from my dream." He answered nonchalantly, then stood up, stretching and yawning. "Now if you'll excuse me, my job requires me to wake up before dawn so I would appreciate it if you'll let me get back to sleep."

"Fine." The man replied begrudgingly. "But if you ever see the witch, inform us immediately."

"I will and good night sir." He waved a stood there for a few more seconds before closing the door and leaning his back on it. "I'm definitely not going to get a wink of sleep tonight."

"You…" Aisha breathed, she was holding her breath for far too long. Her legs finally gave out to exhaustion, sending her plummeting to the floor. "... helped me."

The young man cocked a brow in her direction. "And is there something wrong with that?"

"But that's… that's against the law!" Aisha weakly argued. "If - if they find out that you hid me, you'll be severely punished!"

"How nice of a magician to care about little ol' me." He smiled with mirth and it caused her cheeks to heat up for some reason.

Aisha then realized that he had called her a magician, not a witch like he and the others did a few minutes ago. Her hands unconsciously clutched onto the front of the white coat she was wearing. Was that part of the act to make it more convincing?

"Let me see your arm." He said as he knelt down, her movement had reminded him of something. It wasn't even a request for he just reach for arm without so much of a refusal on her part. She was still trying to figure out what his intentions were for helping her - who was essentially an outlaw - to respond anyways.

He then leveled his eyes with hers, curiosity lighting up in crimson red. "Are those your blood?"

"H-huh?"

The redhead gestured to her face, then to her once pristine white coat. "You were wiping it off of your staff."

"Oh… um…" Aisha bit her lips when she remembered the deaths that she had caused. "No."

"I see." He mused, and Aisha was glad that he didn't pry any deeper into the subject. Instead, he rolled the loose sleeves of her right arm all the way up until it revealed a black mark in that shape of two crescent moons facing away from each other with a full moon stacking on top of the pair. The entire thing appeared to be a tattoo but she knew that it was anything but.

His eyes soften at the sight of it. "Did it hurt?"

"... What?" His voice was so quiet that she wasn't sure if she heard the question correctly.

"When they put it on you."

Aisha stilled for a moment, wondering why he cared. The mark on her was what told those who saw it that she was a slave. It was carved into her skin with magic from those who willingly followed the new laws. It was how they control magicians who were against it.

If they were to use magic without permission, the marks would react and automatically punish them. It would start by burning red, then intricate runes of lines would then start searing outward - almost like a web - from the the activating mark, ensnaring the area where it have been imprinted on (in her case, it was her forearm) and give the worst pain imaginable. And believe her when she said it was like having her guts twisted inside out and being stabbed by a thousand flaming needles. It was the same intensity as when the mark was placed onto her, if not worst. At one point, if one were to use too much magic without permission, it may become life-threatening.

It was essentially a curse.

"... Not really." Aisha decided lie, prying her arm away and rolling down her sleeve to hide that hideously accursed mark. She stood up, looking anywhere but him. "Thanks for helping me. I'll leave before I cause you more trouble."

"It's dangerous for you right now." He spoke but didn't do anything to stop her, knowing that there was truth in his words.

"I'll… I'll handle them." Aisha countered hesitantly, then balled up her hands into fists, muttering to herself, "As long as I don't get caught, I'll be fine."

"I suggest you rest here till the sun comes. It would be easier to roam around when there are people present in the streets."

Aisha turned to him, eyeing him suspiciously yet incredulously. "Are you telling me to use innocent people as my shield?"

He chuckled at her words, standing up. "Why does that bother you when you already have blood on your hands?"

His challenged was met with silence because what he said was true. She had taken more lives than she could count, but she didn't mean it. They gave her no choice. Every time she killed, she'd always thought about how they deserve death, how for some of them, death was better than the life of slavery. It never completely get rid of her guilt, but it was enough for her to not look back on it.

"No… but…"

"There is no 'but' in this." The young man grinned at his victory, then turned around. "You hungry?"

"... What is your intention for helping me?" Aisha shot back with suspicion instead of answering. Despite him trying to aid her, she still couldn't trust him yet. She couldn't trust anyone that resides in the Lurensia province.

"Do I need one?" He retorted back.

"..."

"Then there you go!" He grinned in victory again before resuming his movement to the kitchen area. "What do you want to eat?"

"I'm not hungry -"

 _Grooowl..._

\- But her stomach doesn't seemed to be on the same page.

The redhead raised a mocking questioning brow. "Oh really?"

Aisha cursed and clasp her hands on her stomach, blushing with embarrassment. "I'm really not!"

Cue more grumbling protests.

He chuckled at the sight. "Better make up your mind before those Hunters come back because of all the ruckus you're making."

"S-shut up!" She demanded through more grumbling, though whether she was commanding her stomach or the young man, only she would know. "Oh fine! Whatever you make will do!"

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted then peaked around the entrance to the kitchen. "The name's Elsword by the way."

The impromptu introduction was so sudden that she was taken aback. In spite of that, however, she pursed her lips in doubt, silently saying that she couldn't trust him.

Elsword shrugged at her reluctant silence and gave her a gentle smile that she rarely receives in her life. "It's fine if you don't tell me. Just have a seat and wait."

It was only after he disappeared that she whispered softly, "... Aisha."

.

.

.

"Sorry about the lack of quality," Elsword said sheepishly, sitting down after he placed the plates of food on the table. "I haven't cook for myself in a while so…"

Although reluctant at first, Aisha took a bit out of what _looked_ to be a piece of carrot. If it tasted bad, she didn't show. "... It's fine. Like I said, anything will do."

"You must be _starving_ then," He observed as she tried to keep her table manners while eating.

"I would be lying if I said no." She answered, shadows falling over her eyes. "I've been... too occupied."

Elsword bit his tongue before he could ask the obvious. He didn't want to pry too much into the girl, who was essentially an escaped convict of some sort. But really, he saw nothing but a scared girl who had lost her innocence after being confronted with the bad side of reality.

To him, she didn't seem to be the type that should belong in this harsh reality. And the fact that she had taken life with her own hands troubled him for some reason. Not that he was afraid that she might kill him, but more uneasy about the fact she _shouldn't_ be a killer in the first place.

"Where are you headed to?" He decided to ask out of curiosity and to interrupt the silence that settled in. He always hated those depressing quietude.

"... Why?" Aisha asked suspiciously back.

He shrugged. "Maybe I could help."

She didn't care if he was offended when she scoffed and remained resolute in her silence. Why _would_ he go to that extent anyways? Helping to hide her from the hunters was already enough of a life-time jail sentence and condemnation. There has to be a catch.

"Well… if you don't want me to help then I won't push it onto you." Elsword continued, drumming his hand against the wooden table while he rest his chin on the other that had been propped by the elbow. "But a girl like you shouldn't be a criminal."

She looked up to meet his gaze and couldn't help but be stunned by him being so blunt and casual.

He returns the look with an innocent one, topping it off with the tilt of his head. "I'm saying that you look too fragile to be killing."

Aisha creased her brows sharply and frowned, obviously offended. "I'm not weak."

"No no no, that's not what I'm saying…." He paused, trying to find the right words. A bright smile adorned his face when he found a comparison. "An angel shouldn't be doing the devil's job, right?"

This time, Aisha was stunned to speechlessness, which caused her to drop her chopsticks. She didn't even think that Elsword knew the weight of what he just said judging from the innocent look in his eyes.

"... Hello?" Elsword started after a moment of silence. He leaned across the table to wave his hand in front of the stunned magician "Earth to the magician, you there?"

Then without warning, Aisha grabbed his wrist and twisted it.

"Ow!"

The girl blinked and immediately let go in shock. "S-sorry! I-it was a reflex…"

Elsword grimaced, returning to his seat and rubbing his wrist. "You would only have that kind of reflex if -" He stopped and snapped his head towards Aisha. "How long have you been like this?"

"... it's late, you should be sleeping." Aisha hastily replied, giving the obvious hint that she wanted to dodge the topic.

"..." Elsword eyed the magician carefully but comply with her unspoken request. "You should too then."

She sighed in relief and nodded without thinking, which caused her to snap up in alert immediately. "W-what?"

"Sleep." The young man pointed to a closed door. "I'll stay out here."

She opened her mouth to argue but he seemed to have read her mind.

"No buts." Elsword said adamantly, pulling her up from her seat and leading her towards the only room in the unkempt house.

"...!"

"Y'know, for a girl, you sure don't talk much. Can't you at least say that I'm such a gentleman?" Elsword grinned cheekily, sparkles radiantly off of him.

"... You're an idiot." She deadpanned as she stood just inside of the room she was to sleep in.

"Are you really going to insult the person who gave you refuge?"

"..."

"Oh, by the way, you should _really_ fix your hair. Right now, you look like a crazy la -"

 _Wham!_

\- Aisha slammed the door on him before he could finish. She heard him chuckle and then silence. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and slide down against the door. Browsing through the recent events, Aisha willed herself not to break down just yet. She hugged herself, clutching tightly on the over-sized white robe as if it was the only thing that kept the bad things away. In a way, it did. After all, the piece of clothing had once belonged to the one person she had looked up to the most.

"Noah… it's… just like you said... humans... they're not really all that bad..."

* * *

The next day, when Elsword woke up at the break of dawn and went to wake the magician because his leave was up and he had to return to camp to resume his training as a knight.

"Hey, Miss?" He knocked three times, but no response came. He tried again but that still produced no result.

Now, his sister told him long ago that he shouldn't barge into a girl's sleeping quarters without the aforementioned girl's permission, but Elsword couldn't wait all day.

"Miss -" When he swing open the door, he stopped in his tracks. The bed looked as though no one had slept in it because it was empty _and_ tidy. (And Elsword was pretty sure it had been a mess even before he lend it to the magician girl.) "... Miss?"

He looked around the room, thinking that the girl might be hiding but she was nowhere to be seen. His gaze then stopped at the open window, where the morning breeze came in.

"... She left." He finally said, somewhat dejectedly. He sighed and shook his head as he turned around. "Not even a goodbye?"

He was going to leave when he noticed the piece of paper on the night stand, the candle holder keeping it from being blown away.

The instant he read it, the corner of his lips tugged upwards into a small smile.

 _Thanks._

 _\- Ai._

"That girl…"

.

.

.

A figure slowly came to a stop in the middle of a barren wasteland. The rocks a color closed to rusted iron and the plants that were able to live within this environment were far and few.

Aisha looked back in the direction that she came from, her breath hitched as if she had just ran a marathon but her hair hadn't been in a mess anymore. She had pulled them into two low ponytails in lieu of the usual tight bun, finding it easier tie and more convenient. (It wasn't just because of Elsword's comment last night okay?!)

 _I'm pretty far now._ A distant look replaced her exhausted one. _I hope they won't trouble him…_

She shook her head and turned, seemingly staring at the barren horizon that the sun was just now slowing rising from.

"Keep moving, Aisha." She muttered to herself as she pulled her dirty hood over her violet hair. She continued east, towards the Pluone province without looking back. "You have to live on."

.

.

.

In the Seventh Count of the second Solace Cycle, Witches and Wizards became scarce due to the Witch Hunt that people initiated under the rule of the Tyrant. With the shower of lights that flew into the air in the night of the first month of the Year of Ebalon, a night known as Mīrāculum, the era of Witches and Wizards to an end and the Magi -

\- Eyes narrowed with a sigh at the book, _History Through the Ages._

Humans, the person thought in discontent whenever she read the book, only knew how to twist the truth until it was no longer one. None of them, _absolutely none_ , knew the _whole_ ordeal of that so-called Night of Mīrāculum.

The image of a certain red haired knight came into the person's mind. It had been that very same idiotic knight that had -

\- She forced herself to stop thinking, and instead, stared out of the library window she was seating next to with a distant gaze in her violet irises. The autumn breeze brushed against her face, playing with her purple hair, and flipped the pages of the book that she no longer cared to read.

"It's been... a century already huh."

* * *

 **Annnnnd my sudden enlightenment ends there. So, how was it? Good? Bad? Somewhere in between boring and snoring?**

 **Anyways, this here project will just be a mix of ideas that I have in my head for Elsword. (See it as the place where I dump my incomplete plots)**

 **And as a [[[ BIG WARNING]]] The chapters that will be contained in this fic are in no way related to each other because they're all different plots that came to be on a fly. So unless I bother to continue one of these ideas, then the chapters will all be separate universes and I have little to no intention to develop them into an actual plot line... unless someone picks it up or I just felt like continuing it.**


	2. The Descent

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword**

* * *

 _ **Summary:** Deities, or gods as mortals would call them, weren't just fairy tales. There was no telling how many there actually are but these lofty individuals existed to govern El, the physical manifestation of the Laws that makes up the universe, and make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens. Well... that was what they were _ supposed _to be doing anyways._

* * *

Lightning flashed and the thunder roared. The rain pelted down but turned to hail within seconds as the weather change from sunny to downright freezing. The Earth churned and volcanoes erupt and fire danced and - and Rena was _horrified._ (But compared to the people around her, she was appalled for an entirely different reason.)

As the news travels far and wide, the denizen held their breath, aghast when they saw lightning strike in the distant where a _hurricane-blizzard combo_ was taking place. The weathers were out of control as they saw it, but the strange (and crazy) phenomenon had only happened over the area that a forest was covering (as of now anyways). Some of them wondered if it was a sign that the world was coming to an end, others wondered which deities up there they have offended to be able to witness the weather patterns and natural disasters going haywire in a radius of ten kilometer because after all, they knew of the existence of the dwelling of the gods who had absolute power over the Laws of both the Physical and Metaphysical plane.

"L-let's get away from here," one of the crowd said nervously. "W-what if it gets bigger?"

"R-right!"

And as if on signal, the humans disperse, running back home and shutting their doors, praying that she would live to see another day.

"M-Miss?" A young lady with short pink hair hesitantly called out to her.

"A-ah?" Rena snapped out of her daze and looked at the girl. "Yes?"

"I don't think it wise to stay out here," The pink-haired girl advised. "So you should find shelter until the gods fix the problem. I'm sure they're doing their best right now."

Rena blinked a few times before showing the considerate girl smile. "Thank you but I think I'll just stay out for a bit longer. You should leave though, since it is dangerous to be so close to the disaster."

"But..."

"I'll be fine!" Rena reassured, turning the girl around and pushing her off on her way. "Like you said, the gods up Above will have everything under control in no time! But do be careful on your travel back okay?"

The girl furrowed her brows but decided that she shouldn't press any longer if the stranger didn't want to listen. After all, everything will be under control sooner or later and the world and be peaceful once again. "Alright, stay safe, Miss."

"Will do!" Rena grinned and waved her off, only halting when the other was no longer in sight. That smile dropped and was replaced with a frown, bright green eyes turned sharp with a dose of heavy aura as if she had suddenly turned into an entirely different person as opposed to the amicable one just seconds prior. She would only display this type of expression when she was pissed far and beyond.

She eyed the phenomenon from afar, displeasure written all over. The humans were correct that this was the handy work of the gods from Above. It came as of no surprise, really, that the existence of deities were known by the mortals of the super continent of Elrios. These celestial beings were tasked to govern the Laws of the worldly and the other-worldly such as the elements, weathers, natural disasters, magic, other deities... etc. Though she often wonder if they -

"Rena..."

\- Said person looked over her shoulder, seeing a familiar ravenette with golden eyes don in clothing not of this era... or world for that matter. "Ara, are you here to tell me what I think you're here to tell me?"

"If we're on the same page, then yes." Ara smiled helplessly with a shrug of her hands. "This time, it's..."

.

.

.

The mortals worshiped deities from Above and viewed them as lofty figures that held the world in their hands. They have never seen these deities in person before but they imagined them to be regal and wise with unique temperaments - well, Rena whole-heartedly agreed with the unique temperament part -

"Raven, couldn't you have done something to stop them from fighting before Ara had went to me?"

Said deity had been resting on a cloud from afar but upon hearing Rena's question, he shifted his position so that he had his back facing her. "It's their problem, not mine. Besides, I'm on break." Even though both of them knew that that was quite rude of him, Raven wouldn't allow anyone to see that small amused smile twitching up the corner of his lips.

"..."

\- But as for the first two adjectives...

" - I'm going to _kill_ you -"

" - we're _immortals_ dumba** -"

" - how _dare_ you insult a lady like that b*****d-"

... There was nothing _regal_ about the way they shoot their mouths off with the absence of a verbal filter - if they even _have_ one that is. The colors of those languages, Rena saw, were more of a mess than the rainbows in the sky and she wondered just how deep their pool of vocabulary had accumulated through the Passage of Time.

" - need I remind you that it was _your_ turn to - "

" - the hell?! It was obviously _your_ turn - "

" - Are you kidding?! I did the shift last Cycle's _and_ I filled in for you the Cycle _before_ that - "

" - when did you even do that - "

"Um guys...? You _do_ know that you're causing pretty much the impossible in the Lower realm, right?"

"Who cares?!" came both voices in unison.

... yeah, they were _as wise as sages_ (Notice the sarcasm). The almighty deities of Above and In-Between were reduced to squabbling _children_ because they have never, in all the Cycles that they have existed for, learned the concept of _taking turns._

Rena's eye twitched at the sight of the duo who, in fact, were the very two deities that caused the disturbance in Down (It was what the deities called the Physical plane) because - because... what was it that they even arguing over in the first place? Ara had told her that it started with a simple _greeting_ this time and that simply degraded down into name calling from there and _that_ would obviously lead to trouble if Elrios was anything to go by and - and Rena was done. She was _so_ done. (By the _gods_ , she only left for _one_ human day and the Realm of Elrios was already on the brink of destruction! And dammit, who the hell mixed up the shifts and let Aisha and Elsword of all deities to come into control of the Weathers?!)

Ara stood helplessly on the sideline, having _just_ been told off by the duo when she was only trying to give them a warning of what disaster that was to be known as the Wrath of Rena, the Deity of Nature. (Even though deities had their own specialties, it doesn't mean that they don't have other responsibilities to fill in.) It was their funeral when they didn't heed her words.

"You two..." The aura around Rena became so thick that it was _stifling_ with a tinge of murderous intent. Ara, the wise Deity that she was, decided to dash off with wind under her heels and make sure to be far, _far_ away when - " **Ne ~ why don't you two brats shut the hell up for me ~ ?** " (It was the only way Rena knew how when it came to settling disputes between these two particular deities who were squabbling like a married couple.)

"Well, they're done for." Chung, the Guardian Deity, commented lightly somewhere in the pavilion of floating island that had been situated far above the venue that was currently the victim of Aisha and Elsword's banter. His paw-printed blue eyes glance to the side, seeing Add eating out of a bag of popcorn while enjoying the show. "... Oi, Add, don't you - oh, I don't know - have a _job_ of maintaining the spacial rifts and the likes in space right now so that the distant stars and celestial bodies doesn't get swallowed up by black holes?"

( _Black holes were forming as they speak and the Stars cried tears of flames when they couldn't escape. Light tried desperately to run but they weren't fast enough. Planets were screaming in pain as they were tore into pieces, those that survived - less than 0.000001% - were thrown into a completely different plane of existence._ )

Said white haired deity scoffed in disdain. "It's not like you're doing _your_ job of maintaining order in this place either."

"... I _am_ doing my job." Chung argued with a deadpan. "Don't you see me making sure Rena doesn't attack - " Chung winced when Rena decided to get physical. " - that's gonna leave a mark. You're right, I'm not doing my job - Gimme some of those popcorn."

Add rolled his eyes but offered the bag. His attention then shifted to the ravenette that had sat taken a seat beside him and was watching as the scene unfolds. Aisha and Elsword arguing was old but they have to admit, it was probably one of the more entertaining things to do in their place of dwelling. "As for you, why did you have to inform _Rena_ of all deities?"

"I have to do _something_ right?" Ara defended, pouting. She swiped her hand vertically in the air and the Mirror of Truth was revealed, displaying the current happenings down below. "See? It's a mess down there! I don't want to be the one to clean up after their mess nor do I want to have Ishmael of the Head of the Lower Order on my case either!"

"... Touché."

While the trio was making conversations with each other and watching the show, Rena was scolding Aisha and Elsword in the importance of their roles as deities... as if they hadn't heard her a few million times already.

"... don't do that again, understand?" Rena finished with a half-hearted glare because she didn't know how many times she had said that line to the two and _still_ get no result to show for it. She sighed resignedly, soothing the ache throbbing in her temples. "Why can't you two be more like Eve? She's the most diligent deity that I have known so far!"

"Speaking of which," Elsword veered the topic away, hoping that Rena wouldn't hound them to clean up the mess that they made of Down. "why is Eve the Deity of _Emotions?_ "

"Hey!" Aisha argued, offended on behalf of her friend. "Eve is a very expressing deity!"

"Sure, and I'm the most worshiped deity in all of In-Between!" The redhead mocked. "I have only ever seen Eve with that blank face of hers. Are you _sure_ she's not secretly one of those Deity dolls that gained sentience through the Laws of the Metaphysical?"

"Enough!" Rena cut in before Aisha could retort back. "Don't think you can get away with what you have done. Fix this -" She pointed at the several hovering translucent globes with different weather patterns in them that had been clashing and meshing with each other. " - _now_ or it's off to the Corner for both of you!"

Aisha gasped in horror. "No, anything but there!"

"For once, I agreed with the Grape." Elsword mumbled, shivering.

"Right - wait, who are you calling a Grape?!"

Rena had a headache coming on because she really, _really_ needed a vacation. Who said being a deity was an easy job? In the eyes of mortals, they may seem to be the most powerful beings in existence, but... Rena just felt _old_ because she has to babysit children who, even after _millions of years_ (but compared to the universe, they were still _infants_ ), still didn't know how to behave like the proper gods that they were _supposed_ to be.

Temporarily ignoring the duo who had started arguing again, Rena left her eyes cast towards the center of their vast dwelling of the place above the physical plane but just below the metaphysical. There, surrounded by cumulus clouds, was a large jagged gem stone that was emitting a certain ethereal feel.

The Crystal of El was what the deities all called it and as long as they all remembered, the crystal had been their since their birth and some speculated that it was birth when the universe was created... or maybe it was _because_ of the crystal that the universe was created? No one was sure, but they knew one thing. The deities may be the ones that oversees the Laws of physical and the metaphysical planes, but the El was the one that _upheld_ those Laws in place.

Rena may be among one of the oldest deities born from the Laws, but she never did understand _why_ deities oversee the Laws when the El had always maintained them in perfect condition. In fact, as she saw it, deities had made things worse because they might accidentally tamper with the Laws, which was why throughout history, plagues, famine, and the likes had occurred.

Seeing that the very perfect El -

 _Bam!_

\- a mix of the wind and fire elements clashed straight towards the El crystal and -

 _Crumble..._

\- Rena and the other deities watched, blankly at first, as a huge chunk of El break apart from the main body (for the first time since the Creation of their dwelling _)_ and fell towards Down. The Laws in Above became disarrayed and the entire realm _shook_.

A breeze floated past and...

.

.

.

" **... Aisha... Elsword...** " A flood of suffocating killing intent poured out Rena, so think that it was visibly lifting her hair up in the air.

"Crap, run!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!"

However, Elsword and Aisha couldn't even escape because Rena had already taken them by their heads like they were little dolls. Faced with that pissed off smile that foretold of eternal pain (because Rena obviously can't kill them) and of other unknowns, Elsword and Aisha wished they had never been deities because, well, mortals can escape the Deity of Nature's wrath by meeting Death.

"We're going to take a nice _long_ trip to Down and you two are going to learn the _virtue of teamwork_ by fetching **_that goddamn piece of El back_.** " Rena commanded ever so sweetly as she dragged the unwilling pair towards a Teleportation array. "Ain, prepare the coordinates!"

The Deity of Travels was obedient, activating the Teleportation array that leads to the Realm of Elrios.

Rena promptly threw Aisha and Elsword into the teleporation mechanism like trash bags and they were gone within fleeting seconds. She turned towards the other deities, looking them dead in the eye. "As for you guys, stay put and keep a careful eye on El's condition." She turned and stepped into the array, disappearing as well.

"... something's amiss." Chung frown as a thought flashed across his mind. "I don't think Aisha and Elsword were _that_ careless to let their attacks hit the Crystal of El."

"That should be correct," Came a new voice, monotonic but melodious at the same time. The Deity of Emotions made an appearance, her feet gently touching the ground her from flight from the other side of the Above due to the commotion. "Lady Fate seems to be planning something."

Ara sighed. "I don't know what the Higher Order's thinking to allow the Laws to be in this kind of mess. It can't be good for us deities of In-Between, right?"

"The Metaphysical Plane is too abstract and difficult to comprehend so of course, those who has the ability to reside in that plane tend to be really hard to predict as well." Chung agreed. They knew that Above wasn't the only place where deities resided. There were celestial beings in the Physical and Metaphysical planes as well, called the Lower Order and Higher Order respectively (though the Lower Order was kept quite hidden from the naked eye). The place 'Above' that he and the other deities reside in was also called the Realm of In-Between because, well, they were between the two planes of existence. "What I'm worried about is what will be of Elrios..."

"True, Aisha and Elsword are down there with only Rena to watch them."

( _The End was coming as they know it, because of the sudden imbalance of the Laws, and Chaos was allowed to roam free once more in the continent of Elrios. Lord Henir, the personification of Darkness in the Higher Order, noticed but turned a blind eye to it while Lady Elia, Goddess of Light, worried of the spacial rifts between the mortal plane and the demon plane due to the Descent of El. The Goddess of Humanities of the Lower Order, Lady Hernia (or known as Lady El in the eyes of mortals), was definitely not a bundle of joys, seeing how Fate now has mortals as her new toy. The land rumble and the worlds turn asunder. Life and Death repeated their cycles within the blink of an eye and war was about to take place in the Lower Realm._ )

The deities all glance from Mirror of Truth, Future's Mirage, towards the Teleporation array with mixed emotions but decided to just watch for now. Uncertainty was playing with their minds, but they knew one thing was for sure.

The gods have Descended onto the mortal plane.

.

.

.

And all Hell will break loose.

* * *

 **AKA the Elgang are gods and that's not good. I try to add more characters but not too many because I can't handle too many at once so forgive me if some of them didn't make an appearance.**

 **I got a bit... abstract with this one lol... But well, it's shorter than the first but I never did guarantee that all AUs will be as lengthy. Some might be short, others longer, they all depend on how long my inspirations last. (Apparently, for this one, it was one of the relatively short ones)**

 **Reviews:**

 _ **DescendingSnow:**_ lol, yes, a century. Magic users have a longer life span - just not sure of how long. You're more than welcome to continue :) (The chances of me continuing it is quite low)

 _ **MysteryBoxELS and MargaritaDaemonelix:**_ Thanks! I hope I won't disappoint you!

 **Thanks for reviewing!**


	3. Galactic Warfare

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword**

* * *

 _ **Summary:** The vast outer space was nothing to be trifle with, especially in the face of a period of technological advancement and galactic warfare between humans as well as foreign races._

* * *

 _With her enhanced vision, she noticed the two animal-like drones hovering con the sides of the blonde - an Anima, her memory provided - sitting stiffly in the airship. Their eyes met and a name was provided for her, again, by her memory._

 _Chung Seiker. The... the - enemy? - that she had encountered a while back, before she had been retrieved back to her unit by the Commander and had her Core reconfigured to the point she might as well be considered as an android._

 _She remembered clearly how she had met him (_ they _couldn't do away with her memories without affecting her performance as a whole), but she could no longer find herself affected by the past, for she could not - even if she wanted to. (...Did she?)_

* * *

 **[Flashback]**

In the vast outer space, beyond the asteroid belts, near the distant galaxy, it was a fight for survival. Battle ships charged up their cannons, plasma beans flitted across to the other side, destroying agile airships in a line of explosions. Streaks of light blurred passed, some others clashed back and forth until a the loser couldn't keep up any more.

"Ah!"

Golden eyes stared emotionlessly, a look that resembled that of a superior looking down on an inferior being, and the next action was immediate. "Particle Ray." A beam of bluish white energy beam shot out and -

"GAAAHHH!"

\- A blood-curling scream entered the discordant harmony of war, but it ended as fast as it came when the source was rendered inoperative. Limbs that were no longer connected floated freely in the zero-gravity zone, along with mechanical parts of what was once known as a cyborg.

Although Eve her own consciousness, she felt nothing at the sight. Not even after taking thousands - millions of lives and in counting. It all just faded into the back of her mind like nothing special. At her will, her wing-like apparitions, created from the same energy that she had used to kill her opponents spread, made her look like an angel yet-not. With a step of her foot, she blurred into hyper speed, heading to the new coordinates that she had just received through the communication application of her Core.

Eve was a weapon built for war, that purpose had long been... _programmed_ into her the moment they completely remodeled her entire being - her _humanity_. Unlike the other cyborgs that were created, Eve did not have emotions - or rather, she didn't _retain_ any when her human body was reconfigured by those scientist back on her home planet. Maybe something had went wrong in the process since she was one of the first test subjects that undergo'ed transformation, or maybe it was intentional. Either way, Eve cannot - _does not_ feel. So she didn't have the same fatigue that others felt when they fight - nor was she affected by the mental toll that war always brought on.

She remembered being human once, but she could not understand what it was like anymore. The traces of emotions she felt, she did not comprehend; the way humans make decision was too irrational for her. However, they didn't affect her in any way. Those memories, those emotions... just floated in the corner of her mind, isolated from the rest of the world. She made the conclusion that those things were useless fragments of her past, superficial, and, perhaps, a hindrance to her performance if they ever decided to come out of isolation. But for now, Eve and her memories were two completely independent entities in one body and she preferred it this way.

"Code: Eve of the Nasod Unit, are you in position?"

Golden eyes blinked and a digital screen appeared on her left, showing her of her current placement. She spoke back to the inbuilt communicator, voice as monotonic as ever. "Reaching designated coordinates in approximately 1 minute and 33.29 seconds."

Battleships tried to get in her way but Eve sliced them in half with a particle beam. Electricity circulated her body as she boosted her glide, explosions following her wake.

"Designation approaching, waiting for further instructions."

There was a _bzzt_ , before the final order that would soon be the death sentence of many lives. "Decimation."

"Understood." Streams of data flitted through her eyes as the command had allowed her no restrictions. Gears turning on full, re-patterning her circuits to fulfill said command to the fullest. "Authorizing Psychic Artillery, restrictions uplifted. Energy buildup at 78.5%."

Eve extended her hand out, a triangular force field forming and already gathering particle energy that had been charged in her Core. "Preparations for launch in approximately 4.57 seconds... 3.14 seconds... 2.25 seconds...0.36 seconds..."

 ** _Hummm_ -** "System fully charged and launching."

The result was endless explosions lighting up the relatively dark void of space and the destruction of yet another planet of another nameless solar system.

.

.

.

Eve reentered the temporary base on a deserted celestial body, face void of any emotion even though she was the deciding factor in the battle against an alien race. Her return initiated various responses her colleagues both human and cyborgs alike.

"She's back!"

"Damn, not one scratch huh?"

"Perfect as always, as expected of the leader of the Nasod Unit!"

"Bah, she should be an android, not a cyborg!"

They weren't exactly... welcoming comments. Eve and others weren't on the best of terms since the former did not know how to socialize with those who based their rationalizations on their emotions, nor did she bothered to understand them either. So it led to a frigid gap that was never to be crossed. Even those within her unit, those of the Nasod, the strongest combat-based cyborg unit within Planet Altera's military command, weren't exactly on good terms with Eve - who happens to be their leader. She was different from them, after all, since she had been the only one who was, as implied by one of the combatant of what she assumed to be the airforce unit earlier, closer to an android than anything else and could kill in cold blood the moment an order was relayed.

(It had happened before, when there was an internal strife between the being of flesh and the cyborgs because the latter were send out to _die_ in the planet's ambitious conquest of the galaxy of Elrios. Eve, who's loyalty was programmed to lie with her superior, her creator, hence, with just but one order, she annihilated the ones that caused the mutiny. Since then, both cyborgs and humans feared and disdained her existence.)

Eve didn't care, nor did she had the mind to care. Her only objective after her rebirth as a cyborg was to carry out commands in a swift and clean manner. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Oi, Eve!"

The silverette halted in her steps at her name. She registered the voice of the caller as Add, one of the better scientists that came along for the campaign of the eastern conquest of the Elrios Galaxy. She did not understand why the man keeps bothering her every day that she was at this base, talking about how he wanted to take a look at her Core and finding out why she had not retained any emotions after the reconfiguration.

... As if she will let the man do that.

Eve was just _fine_ without emotions and she did not care for the reason behind her deviation from the norms.

"How may I be of assistance, Add?" Eve replied nonetheless because even though she did not want to associate with the man, he was still her superior.

The white haired scientist scowled at her bland response. "Lemme analyze your Core."

"Request denied." was the Nasod's blunt reply before she sauntered off to her recuperation quarters.

Add let out a string of curses that would put sailors to shame before pointing a finger at Eve's retreating back. "Haven't you ever been curious why you're the _only_ one who had this sort of outcome?!"

Eve stopped for a short moment, shooting the scientist a backwards glance. "Forgive me if I may, but I have no interest in such trivial matters." She turned back and continued walking, her footsteps echoing in the metallic hallway.

* * *

Humans have prospered for many millenniums, to the point that they technology advances lead them to the far reaches of the outer space. Opportunities arise and different nations took the chance of leaving their small little planet of Ruben to establish colonies on other celestial bodies. Hence, as time passed, these nations associated less and less with their own specie until the point they treated the others as foreign races.

Each nation - _planets_ went on different paths of technology. Some focused on their strength of their battleships, others on weapons. Planet Altera was such nation that mainly focused on the allocation of robotic parts onto that of living flesh, creating intelligent killing machines and a force to be reckon with. Eve have been one of the first prototypes and the very last of the first batch that still survived even as new models came in to replace the old.

However, not all nations focused solely on their researches and developments on science and engineering. Besides the humans that explored the galaxy of Elrios, there were also alien races that had an innate talent for magic and the likes, combining their powers with the likes of machinery in order to defend their planet ever since knowing of the threat of humanity.

Eve find the that kind of combatants to be very troublesome. They were -

She spun out of the pathway for a fireball the size of a meteor.

\- too illogical and difficult to predict.

She had been sent, yet, onto the battlefield a few weeks later after this previous one. It was against one of the more competent planets that belonged to an alliance known as the Axis of the Magical Kins. As the name stated, it was a league of races that could perform these irrational phenomenons known as magic. They weren't ambitious by nature, Eve found out through a thorough analysis of the data she acquired. Altera had been the first one to attack their home and they responded by back with defense.

She stood at a distance, face void but one could see the the underlying confusion and frustration underneath. She did not now how to deal with these kind of opponents, whose attacks were difficult to predict compared to the calculated distance that a plasma cannon could afford to shoot at maximum capacity.

"Give it up." One of the magic users shouted at her. They seemed to have cast some kind of spell on themselves that allowed them to survive in outer space without external aid. "You filthy humans are not to touch our home!"

"..." Eve only stared at the encirclement that she had been ensnared into. They knew that she was threat and so, they decided that before anything else, they would have to do away with Eve less things complicated themselves.

There was a buzz in her ear and - "Use whatever means you have to eliminate our target -" There seemed to be some sort of scuffle for the communicator on the other side because after a moment of static, she heard Add.

"No, don't you _dare!_ " he barked, though Eve wasn't sure if it was aimed at her or at the commander. "She has gained _enough_ merit for you b*****ds to _not_ sacrifice her when she can't be of use anymore!"

Apparently, it was to the commander.

Eve frowned, she did not appreciate the man's intervention in her mission.

"Add, know your place." The commander retorted back. "Need I remind you of just _who_ in my hands?"

"... don't you dare touch Ara!"

The commander chuckled in amusement. "She's quite the interesting specimen that we captured, having the bloodline of the Celestial Fox. She would make the perfect replacement after Eve accomplish its job."

"You...!"

"Commander, awaiting orders." Eve had no interest in the conversation that was going on at the other end. She rather focus of dodging the erratic pathways of elements thrown her way than a pointless argument.

"Like I said, use any means necessary to bring us a victory." The commander ordered. "Our opponent is the head of the AMK allegiance so it will be easy picking once they're gone."

"Understood."

" _Eve!_ Don't -"

The silverette ignored Add's protests on the other end and channeled energy from her Core. She looked to the opponents around her, a faint glow to her person as she prepared to counterattack with everything at her disposal. Energy Needles, Particle Rays, Giga Stream, Kugel Blitz... but they just weren't enough. She broke out of one encirclement and entered into another.

This time, she felt gravity weighing her down and slowing her flight. She knew that they were preparing something big, the magic formation glowing underneath her said it all.

She looked up, face knowing no fear nor exhaustion, and prepared for the final blow that she knew would not necessarily end theirs lives as certainly they would end hers. However, her command was to use 'any means to bring her planet a victory', even if she needed to sacrifice herself to create a lasting damage.

How strange that she was only now getting that tinge of emotion known as bitterness.

"... Initiating Psychic Artillery."

* * *

"Ack! Moby! Don't touch that - Remy, nonono _NO!_ That's definitely going to wake her up -"

 ** _KABOOM!_**

 _._

 _._

 _._

First of all, Eve had to wonder who that speaker was. She have no registration of it in her data base, which meant that the person was not affiliated with Altera's military unit which could possibly mean that he was an enemy. And second, she was alive. Some parts of her body - mainly her legs - seemed to be nonfunctional but she was _alive_.

How was that possible? Her calculations of the possibility of her _Core_ coming out intact had been less than the probability of finding a needle in a haystack, much less her physical body.

She pried open her eyes and met the ceiling of a wooden roof. She veered her head to the side and saw a young man clutching onto the door frame of the room she had been unconscious in. She noted that he was covered in smudges and residue of smoke and decided that it was probably due to the explosion from earlier. It was a great contrast to his blonde hair and to his once - probably - pristine clothes.

Paw-printed blue eyes flicked up and met her golden ones, the former blinking several long seconds before jumping back and yelping in surprise.

"Y-you're awake!"

Eve didn't deign an answer, currently processing if the man was a threat or not. But even if he was, she was in no condition to fight seeing as how her gears were too slow even at the startup.

The blonde cough out a puff of smoke and ruffled his hair, sending clouds of soot in the process. "Ugh, sorry if Remy woke you up. I told her not to touch the reactor but _nooo_ , the little tyke just had to touch whatever she sees."

"... Identification?" Eve decided to ask when the other was starting to ramble.

"Eh?" The young man blinked in confusion with a tilt of his head. "What do you mea -"

"Identification! Identification!"

"- GAH!" A black, rhino-like drone the size of a head and its white, rabbit-like counterpart pounced onto his head at that moment, causing him to tumbling into the room and flop onto the floor in a mess. "Identity: Chung Seiker! Creator of Moby and Remy!"

"M-Moby! Remy!" The now identified Chung grabbed a hold of the two drones in his hands before it could give him stomachaches by trouncing said spot. He gave Eve a sheepishly smile. "S-sorry about them. They're... really playful."

"Playful!" Remy reiterated with its tiny limb-like appendages. THe two then hovered out of Chung's clutches and circled around the silverette before coming to a stop in front of her. They tilted their heads, and consequently, their entire body, to the side as they spoke in unison. And cutely at that. "Identification?"

"..." Eve just stared at the two drones with with a lack of an expression. Though due to the fact that she had lived a life of combat, her guards were raised against the unknowns.

She heard a chuckle and aimed her stare at the blonde.

"Don't worry," Chung assured with a smile as if he could read what she was thinking. "They're not actually built for combat so they're relatively harmless."

There was a noticeable frown marring her otherwise blank face now. Should she or should she not trust his words? It was a difficult decision because she was programmed to only obey, not to make tactful decisions (She held no experience doing the latter anyways). But by the looks of things, it seemed that the man had been the one who saved her, and from what she'd learned from her creator, she should show gratitude to the one that saved her life. (The fact that her life was spared _because_ of the modification to her body was forever imprinted onto her. She was told to forever be in-debt to her saviors, obey their every words and sacrificing her life for them if necessary.)

"... Eve." She decided to gave her identity after gauging the blonde man as unarmed.

Chung stared, confused. "Just Eve?"

The silverette showed the barely noticeable frown again. She never did like to hold a conversation, seeing as how they were practically a waste of time - unless it was necessary. So, she was a Nasod of little words compared to the rest of her Unit. And the fact that she had only combat experience and no diplomatic experience wasn't helping either.

"Code: Eve. The first of the Nasod Unit prototype models of Altera programmed for combat. Status: Cyborg. Previous status: Human."

"... okay." Chung accepted the information lamely, giving Eve an odd look. When she tried to get up though, he finally moved to stop her. "You can't!"

"... Why?" Eve asked blankly.

"W-well..." Chung gestured to the legs that were under the blanket. Why it was even covering her was something Eve could not comprehend. She did not feel cold as it is. "Your legs are... uh... not working."

He then set her into a sitting position, propping a pillow up against the bed frame so that she could lean against it. Again, she did not understand the need of that pillow. Nor did she understand the treatment she was getting. However, she would not question her savior. That was not an option.

"I found you drifting in space actually," Chung started, pulling up a chair and sitting beside Eve. "you were critically injured so I took you back to my humble little hut for care." He paused, then added hastily with a trace of red on his cheeks. "I-I didn't see anything though! Moby and Remy had done the most of the repairs while I gave instruction from the other side of the room!"

"... I cannot comprehend." Eve admitted.

"Haha..." Chuckle laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Never mind. Anyways, we could only repair what we can for now. Your legs... are gonna take longer because they were, if I may be blunt, completely busted."

Eve blinked, then examined her upper torso for a few seconds before returning her face to Chung. "You are well-versed in the robotics field."

"Oh - uh... thanks? Are you hungry?" He suddenly thought but then slapped himself on his forehead for the obvious question. "Of course you are, you've been sleeping for days!"

Before Eve could give her input, Chung already stood up and left the room, leaving Eve with two curious looking drones dancing about her. She noted how they were so... _life-like_ compared to the machines that were built for war. Heck, they were more _alive_ than _Eve_ was.

By the time Chung came back with a tray of food, Remy was upside down atop her head while Moby was rolling about on her lap. He laughed lightly when he came upon such a scene.

"Moby and Remy took a liking to you!" He remarked as he set the tray in front of her - Moby was considerate enough to give up his spot.

Eve didn't respond, staring at the bow of steam rice with vegetables and pork in front of her instead. Even though she was half human, Eve hardly ate edible substance. She would always make do with the energy that was provided in her capsule for her recharge so forgive her if she was staring at the food in front of her like a foreign object.

"What's wrong?" Chung asked, brows furrowed, when Eve showed no sign of touching the food. "Is it not to your liking? I can make something else if you like."

Eve shook her head a 'no'. "I... seemed to have forgotten how to absorb this... consumable substance."

"... it's steam rice."

"... I do not have any data on what energy substance that is."

"..."

"..."

"... do you know what batteries are then?"

"I do."

"..." With his eyes hidden behind his bangs, he snatched the bow and chopsticks away without a word. Eve's gaze followed his movement, wondering if she had offended her savior in any way.

"Eve." He started, revealing an oh-so sweet smile. "You eat it like this." Then Chung demonstrated the _act of eating_ for the cyborg to see. "Now you try."

Eve furrowed her brows when the blonde gave the bowl and chopsticks back to her. "I do not see the reason for this, Chung. Recharging through an energy capsule is much more efficient than this method."

"Oh my god," Chung facepalmed. "I picked up a frog from a well."

"Pardon?"

"... nothing." Chung sighed and massage his temples. "Just - _please_ do me the favor and eat."

...

Eve found Chung's 'little hut', as he would call it (because it really did resemble cottage of some sort), filled with gadgets and gizmos of all sizes and designs. They were splayed out on the table, the ground, anywhere that it could be seen with the naked eyes to be precise. (He wasn't exactly an organized person it seems) Even the room that she resided in, because, as Chung had told her, it was supposed to be _his_ sleeping quarters.

"Then where do you recuperate your energy at?"

"... You should learn to speak normally Eve," Chung suggested offhandedly before gesturing to the connecting room that was both the living room and the kitchen. "I slept on the couch. It's really no different from how I usually am though, since I tend to fall asleep while fiddling with machine parts in the middle of the night... what are you staring at?" He changed the topic when he saw Eve's gaze just looking over his head. He felt a little self-conscious all of a sudden.

"Those," Eve pointed at the brown-tipped... _things_ on Chung's head. "Are your hearing organs?"

"... Ears, yeah." Chung grabbed said ears and pulled them downwards as if to hide them. "What about them?"

"What are you?" Eve countered, sincerely curious for the first time since her reconfiguration. She had to take a pause at that, because that... that _feeling_ was vaguely familiar - and why was it that she was feeling _anything_ at all? She'd seen the world in a dull black and white but now, there was... gray?

"I'm..." Chung stopped in consideration for a long second before deciding to be honest. "I'm from a line of Guardian Wolves actually, or the general term for my race would be Anima. Y'know, having animal characteristics and all that."

"... are you, perhaps, part of the Axis of Magical Kins alliance?"

"Well..." Chung looked up in thought. "I wouldn't say so since my race is rather scattered throughout. I rather maintain a neutral stance when it comes to politics and war." He looked back at the silverette, seeing her having some sort of internal conflict. (Her eyes were an open book to Chung.)

"I heard of Altera's recent deeds but I'm not going to harm you just because you're from Altera." He assured with a soft smile. "I rather us be friends."

"... Friends?" Eve repeated, the word was obviously foreign to her tongue.

"Friends." Chung confirmed and stretched out his hand. "You know, a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual understandings with."

"I see..." Eve stared at Chung's hand for a second before hesitantly accepting it. "I... accept?"

"Yeesh, Eve, you're really..." He had difficulty finding the right word to describe the cyborg who seemed to be lacking in the sentiment department. "... You're really such an innocent child."

A frown marred her face, and she wondered what was happening to her.

"Do you want to get some fresh air?" Chung asked.

"I require no such thing."

"Right..." The blonde rolled his eyes and snapped his finger. "Remy, if you may."

The rabbit-like drone did the best it could do of a salute before flying off of Eve's head and... and increasing in size. Eve blinked and just stared.

Seeing how the silverette had stopped processing, Chung laughed. "I guess you can't come in terms with magic huh?" And without waiting for a response, he scooped Eve up, holding her firmly by her shoulders and under her nonfunctional legs, and placed her gently on top of Remy's head.

"Just take it at face value alright? Don't think too much." He patted Eve on the head before leading Remy out the door. "C'mon! We'll take a walk!"

"..." Eve touched the spot where Chung had patted her and stared at the blonde's back in confusion.

.

.

.

Compared to the heavily industrialized cities that she has seen, Chung's place of residence was the complete opposite. Lush green trees surrounded them, flowers and bushes growing wherever they like and the quiet stream running nearby seemed to added to the peaceful nature. In all the years that Eve had lived, this was the first time she found a sense of peace as compared to the clashes of battles and a discordant harmony of screams and operating war machines.

"You were remodeled to kill, weren't you." Chung stated more than ask, crouching down to let his hand dip into the water of the stream.

"..." Eve's silence was enough of an answer for the blonde.

"I personally hate seeing conflict," Chung admitted. "Every living being has an end waiting for them. War just ends it prematurely, don't you think?"

"... I cannot understand." Eve answered with a dip of her head. "I apologize for my incompetence."

"What are you talking about?" Chung laughed, standing back up, "It's natural that you're having trouble understanding." He pointed at the gem that was embedded on Eve's forehead. "Sorry if I had intruded but I'd taken a look at your main processing system. There was something... unusual about it."

Eve blinked and tilted her head, waiting for the blonde to continue.

"As you should already know, you lack emotions that other cyborgs retained." Chung stated, looking helpless. "There was... a chip of some sort embedded in that gem of yours. It's not just an accessory, but works as a kind of inhibition on your emotions - pretty much placing your emotions aside. You may be aware of them but you can't actually feel them."

He then scratched his head, unsure of how he should continue. "I - uh... took the liberty of taking that out... so... you might, um... start _feeling._ "

"... That was unnecessary." Eve disapproved. At least she understood what was going on with her all of a sudden. She wasn't sure whether or not she enjoyed having these... emotions.

"I'm sorry.." Chung's ears flopped down dejectedly with his mood. "I just... I couldn't help it. A life is a life no matter how insignificant they are, that was what my father taught me. You're _alive_ , Eve. You should not just think of yourself as some kind of war machine and you definitely should not be stripped of the rights you have since your birth. I was only trying to give back what was rightfully yours."

"... Is that the principal you had in mind when you created these two drones?" Eve looked down at Moby and Remy, the former in her arms while she was sitting on the latter. "They're quite... alive - as you put it."

"I guess," Chung chuckled, gesturing for Moby to come over to him. The rhino-like drone obeyed and circled around the blonde. "My goal is to bring life to the things I create. Don't you think it's a pity if these drones were created only to sit around like display items until the day they're send into battle, where the chances of them being destroyed were next to certainty?"

"..."

"That's _your_ life up till now, isn't it." Chung pointed out with a frown. "You should use this chance to learn more about the world, Eve. There's a lot more to it than war."

"... I do not think it to be neces -"

"Don't give up when you didn't even try." The blonde smiled, stretching out a hand. "I won't give up like they did you."

"... you looked through my memories as well?"

"I know, I'm really _really_ sorry about that! It was only the recent ones though because Iwantedtoknowwhathappenedtoyouand -" Chung turned into a blabbering mess with his face as red as a tomato.

Eve decided to use that opportunity to try giggling. It was, for the lack of a better word, unemphatic and sounded very much a murderer happily making her next list of victims.

"... That was creepy, but you're getting there."

Even as they converse, Eve subconsciously took note of the tracking device that had been closely connected to her heart. As long as her heart remain functional, it would send out a signal to Altera, informing the scientists of her current status and whereabouts. She didn't doubt of what would happen in the near future but she wanted to... hope?

 **[End Flashback]**

* * *

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _Chung's grip on the steel wheel tightened. Although he had been the crown prince of the Seiker bloodline that ruled over Senace, he never had a mind to get caught up in the matters of war and politics. He was stubborn in it, going so far as to isolate himself in a secluded part of the planet just to state his position loud and clear._

 _He wanted nothing to do with the current on-going wars of the alliance._

 _He looked out of the overhead of the airship that was specifically designed for his control, a wry smile stretched across his lips as his paw-printed blues reflected a sad helplessness. Till this day, he never thought he would willingly involve himself in the matter._

 _"So this is how it's going to go down, huh."_

 _And it was all because he couldn't_ give up. _(She had been taken away while under his protection and he wasn't going to take it while lying down.)_

 _Eve stared back, first emotionless, but then flickers of emotions became vision for just a split second. That short second was enough for Chung to hope - hope that things wouldn't end like what was written down on the script._

 _"Hey, Eve, I won't give up. So you shouldn't too."_

 _"... Code: Eve, commencing combat."_

* * *

 **Yeah... it was getting ridiculous and I had no idea where I was going with it so I cut it off, re-edited a few things and violà! It somehow ended like this. It seems a bit... worst than the previous two? Again. I don't know and I can't find myself to care lol**

 **I think... I got an idea for a pirate AU... now I just need to choose which characters to use...**

 **Thanks to** _Halesia Carolina, EternaPhoenix, MysteryBoxELS, SoulHorse_ **for reviewing!**

 **Happy reading! ~ヾ(＾∇＾)**


	4. The ElPirates

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword**

* * *

 _ **Summary:** Pirates, Lu thought, were supposed to be eccentric. They don't just go 'Arrrr!' and the 'Walk the plank!' If she was going to join a pirate crew, she was going to join one that wasn't so stereotypical. Ciel wondered if his charge understood that it was supposed to be the _ pirates _who looked for the recruits, not the other way around_

* * *

"No no no," Lu Sourcream shook her head at the bulky man with the ugly mustache. She and her butler-slash-caretaker were in a harbor at sundown. It was usually the start of the time when pirates come into harbor to resupply their inventory in one of those more... pirate-welcoming places far away from the marines' side. "I'm not asking if if I could join. I'm asking if you have the _qualification_ for me to join."

"The f***."

The petite girl sighed in exasperation. From the idiocy that the man was showing, this group of pirates was definitely not worth her time.

"Forget it, forget it!" Lu waved her hand in half exasperation and half in contempt. "I'm afraid that you guys' stupidity will rub off on me if I join you guys."

"Why you - !"

Ciel sighed as he pulled his charge behind him and with a deadpan expression, he blocked the swing that the enraged pirate was about to aim at Lu. "Dare I say that it wouldn't be good for you if you harm a hair on Miss Lu's body?"

"Ciel!" Lu complained, pouting behind the taller person. "I ain't that weak! I can take on this b*****d -"

"Miss Lu, language." Ciel interjected with a frown, casually flinging the pirate he had halted towards the mess of empty crates and barrels being unloaded and dusting his hand afterwards.

" - any time of the day!" Of course, as usual, the petite lady ignored her caretaker. "It'll just take a punch, a kick and then bam!"

Ciel sighed, wondering how such an adorable looking girl like Lu would have such a foul mouth with a personality to match. Not that he dislike his charge, but it was rather tedious at times when he had to clean up after her mess.

"How dare ye mess with us Huckleberry pirates!"

Like now.

"What the fu - that sounds so lame!" Lu complained, stepping forward with a fist rising in the air. "There's no sense of intimidation in it at all! I mean, just listen - Huckleberry, Huuuccckkkllebeee - ack!"

Ciel pulled on the other's collar, dodging the swing of a saber as the pirates that they have now enraged was starting their attacks.

" - Ciel! What are ya doin'!" Lu gripped her own collar, as if it would help loosen her caretaker's iron grip. "I wasn't finish!"

"Miss Lu," CIel answered calmly as he leaped back from another swing of a sword, then he unceremoniously tossed the girl into the air. "Is it not best we deal with the problem at hand?"

While in midair, Lu huffed indignantly but she still clenched her right fist as it reeled back. Ribbons of navy blue streams of light circulated her right arm, a hallucination of something larger and more monstrous flickering in and out about said arm.

"Miss Lu," Ciel's brows crinkled with but a glance as he withdrew one of the two blade-guns strapped around his waist and using its butt to hit one of the pirates in the guts. "Control your strength."

Just after Ciel voiced his warning, the illusion flickering about Lu's arm disappeared as she struck down diagonally at where most of the pirates were crowded around.

 _ **Bang!**_

A bullet soared pass Lu, deflecting a spear that was being thrust towards the petite girl. Ciel backed a step to dodge an attack as he swung his blade-gun about after firing. Although his weapon was meant for dealing injury to the flesh, Ciel try not to do that unless it was necessary. After all, he didn't want to attract too much attention - not that the current brawl was helping with being subtle.

"Ciel!"

Said caretaker slanted his head away from punch, using his free hand to grab onto the outstretched arm and kneeing the other in the solar plexus. He then looked towards where Lu's voice had come from while hitting another pirate with his weapon while he was at it. Upon seeing that Lu had somehow got onto the Huckleberry pirates' ship, Ciel didn't know whether he should worry about his charge… or the ship. "Miss Lu, please -"

 _ **KABOOM!**_

Ciel caught the last of the pirate by the throat and toss him to the side as he sighed at the fact that his charge has destroyed yet another ship in the heat of her excitement.

When Lu came back from after dealing the death blow to the poor ship, Ciel took a handkerchief from within his coat and wiped Lu's hands. He had been taking care of Lu since the latter was little, and have developed a case of mysophobia that was especially extreme when it revolves around his charge.

He hated it when Lu dirtied her hands when he could've taken care of it all for her. "Miss Lu, you should act more like someone of your status."

The only response he got for it was Lu rolling her eyes at him. She then snorted and ignored the topic all together. "They were nothin' but wimps, I tell ya!"

"If I may ask, Miss Lu," Ciel didn't mind the change of topic, it was a normal occurrence for Lu to avoid anything that related to her identity after all. "Why must we look to join a pirate crew instead of creating one to your satisfaction?"

"Are ya kidding me?" Lu's face immediately twisted in disdain as she hopped over an unconscious body with Ciel following behind her, leaving the mess of a seen for the marines to deal with. "That takes more work than finding one and joining it! Let's go find the next candidate!"

"..." Ciel refrained from massaging his temple at his charge's lack of responsibility. He wasn't about to go remind his charge _again_ that pirates does the recruiting, not... well, not her. If he knew that she was going to be this adamant about becoming a pirate, he shouldn't have told her stories of pirates's life in their past times while roaming around the world after leaving the Dark Region for some time.

"Miss Lu, maybe we should be a bit more subtle for now." Ciel suggested - almost _pleaded_ because, hell, they have been targeting pirate ships for the past _month_ , resulting in over thirty ships being destroyed and of those who were lucky enough to survive... their ending weren't any pretty either. Even worse, their activities had caught the attention of _marines_ for El's sake, but when they gave out the invitation of joining their side, his charge destroyed the stronghold they were in without a second thought.

So, not only were they getting on the pirates' bad side, they were also on the wanted list by the marines - which, as anyone could see, wasn't a good idea. At all. Land masses of Elrios were separated from each other by a huge body of water known as the ocean, making sea routes both the most efficient channel of trading, traveling etc, but it was also the most dangerous because of it was predominately overran by pirates. And since there existed pirates, marines wouldn't be that far behind since, after all, they were the different sides of the same coin. Hence, Ciel and Lu being pursued by both the good and the evil was never a good thing. Especially when these two forces were the dominate ones of the era at hand.

"Why do we have to be subtle?" Lu questioned and Ciel couldn't face that oblivious look of hers. His charge, despite living much - _much_ \- longer than the average human, still has so much to learn.

"Nuff about that -" Lu paused, her eyes immediately sparkled towards another part of the harbor - much to Ciel's dread. "Ciel, lookie there! I see another ship~!"

"..." Ciel silently lit a candle to the ship that was going to be sunk sometimes later.

* * *

Ciel considered the group of four… eccentric. Not only in the different style clothing they wore that represented they were from different backgrounds and cultures, but also -

"... Elsword, you're a pirate - a captain at that - but you're seasick?" Lu asked the redhead incredulously.

"Yeah, what of it?" Said person retorted, feeling offended whenever that topic was raised. "There's not a rule saying a pirate can't be seasick!"

They had only just met, Ciel recalled, because Elsword had told his First Mate to shoot him out of his personalized cannon - Destroyer as the Chung had named it (The blonde seemed sensitive to others comparing his weapon to the average cannon) - which brought Ciel back to a very important question.

"Why did you volunteered to be a human cannonball?" If he hadn't done that, the Lu wouldn't be currently sitting in a cann - his apologies, _Destroyer_ , right now, waiting eagerly to be launched.

"Um…" Ciel's perception was sharp - he was a trained assassin after all - so he detected the tinge of awkwardness when the issue was raised.

"It was _exactly_ because he was seasick," Chung answered for his captain, his expression seemed more of schadenfreude than anything else.

"Oi, Chung," Elsword glared at the other indignantly. "Clam it!"

"You've already exposed that you're prone to seasickness," Chung countered with a roll of his eyes. "What's so embarrassing about admitting that you thought it was a great idea to use my destroyer as an expressway to the nearest harbor?"

"By the way," The blonde then shifted his attention to Lu, who was _still_ sitting inside his weapon. "Can you get out, please? My Destroyer is built mainly to use as a weapon, not as a furniture - and hopefully it will stay that way."

Ciel very much appreciate Chung's comment. He didn't like the thought of his charge disappearing from his sight one bit. The last time he lost track of Lu was -

"You're no fun." Lu pouted.

"Miss Lu," Ciel frowned, coming back from his dread. "Don't make this difficult on both of us."

"But -"

"No but's."

"Why don't you just let the little lass have her fun," Suggested the only female of the group of four, a raven haired woman dressed in oriental clothing. If he was guessed correctly, then she must've originated from Sander, which was part of the eastern Fluone Province of the Elrois Region. It was quite a distance away from Elder of the western Lurensia Province.

She was stroking a small white fox that was perched on her shoulder. Its fur seemed soft and fluffy, making Ciel's hand itch. (He has no immunity when it came to small animals.) However, what was strange about this fox was that it had been concentrated on Lu ever since it saw his charge.

It was troubling to say the very least, because he knew some spiritual creatures - the fox with nine tails was definitely not normal - has especially keen senses. At least, it was better than the average human. He was afraid that the fox may have seen through Lu's disguise.

Lu was, after all, different from the average human - a whole different category of different. She was a Demon, and one with a... complicated status at that. She had once been a Noble among the Demon tribe of the Dark Region, an entitled rank among her race that had given her the fear and respect of all Demons below her status since her birth. However, that authority came with a price. The constant power struggle Nobles faced among different factions gave birth to disunity and distrust, those who were once called your family and friends would turn their backs on you for power and benefits.

And Lu wasn't an exception to that chaos.

The first that Ciel had met Lu was when he was still a full-blood human. That time, the strained relationship between Humans of Elrios Region and Demons of Dark Region were at its peak and his village was caught in the crossfire when the Demons invaded.

He was at Death's door when Lu came and offered him a new lease on life.

"It doesn't matter, Miss Lu -"

 _ **BOOM!**_

"WEEEEE, I'M FLLLLLYYIIIIINNG~!"

"..." Ciel watched, flabbergasted and helpless as Lu was launched into the air and send towards the direction of town.

Ciel's glare towards Chung could only be described as murderous, but even that was an understatement if the dark piercing aura has any say on the matter.

The latter held his hands up in defense. "I didn't do it! Lu activated the Destroyer when I wasn't looking!"

"You -" Ciel was just beginning to retort when he sensed a vibrating connection in his mind. It was the Master and Servant contract (despite Ciel being the caretaker and Lu his charge) that Lu and Ciel formed long ago, an ancient spell that only those with power have the knowledge of. His injuries from the result of the invasion healed at an accelerated pace that wasn't human, but the price was that he was to give up his humanity.

 _"You shouldn't worry too much,"_ The sudden spoken words of the fox caught Ciel off-guard. Its gaze shifted to Ciel, who tensed in trepidation. _"You've became a Half-Demon because of that Master and Servant, am I correct? So you should be able to sense if she is in danger through the telepathic link."_

"How…"

"Half-Demon?" Raven, who had been silent ever since the exchange he had with Ciel due to Ciel misunderstanding the group of four for kidnapping his charge, spoke. His golden eyes shifted towards Ciel, it was cold by nature but there was a hint of curiosity mixed in.

"You have demon blood in you?" Chung asked also in curiosity, but then nodded to himself in satisfaction. "That does explain how your wounds heal so quickly after Raven managed to injure you."

"That's amazing, you probably don't have to worry about getting hurt at all!" Elsword's tone was filled with awe.

"I'm pretty sure it's still painful," Ara pointed out.

These humans… didn't seemed to react badly when they heard that he had demon blood running through his veins. However, he would have to pushed that thought into the back of his head.

"What are you?" Ciel narrowed his eyes towards the white fox, his guard rising as his hand moved to his weapon. To easily see through his and Lu's origins, as well as the contract between them…

 _"There's no need to be alarmed,"_ The white fox seemed to curled its mouth into a teasing smile. _"Ara and I have the same contract - though the terms might have been a bit different than the ones for demons."_

"Her?" Ciel's gaze fell on Ara. "You're a Half-Beast then?"

"Mm," Ara magnanimously nodded her head, her eyes seemed to glow red for a brief second before return to their amber color. "Though, the status of one being in contract with a Celestial Beast such as Eun is rather different in my clan as they, especially the Celestial Fox, are worshiped as protectors of my people. However, I've heard it's a different story for demons, though Lu treated you like an equal."

Ciel understood the underlying meaning in it. Half-Demons, by nature, weren't full-fledged Demons to begin with (be it crossbred or contracted ones). Full Demons looked down upon those of halves, hence, Half-Demons have the lowest status among the entire tribe - they were no different than slaves.

However, despite becoming a Half-Demon himself, Ciel's status was special. Because the contract must be done through a blood ceremony and since Lu was a Noble, Ciel had Noble blood mixed into his human one. Hence, he wasn't treated as a slave like all other Half-Demons (though rare as they were), especially when Lu didn't see him as one.

But it was that very same contract that caused the start of Lu's fall from grace.

 _"It's a rather interesting trait that the child has,"_ Eun mused with great interest. _"It's very… human."_

Ciel didn't deny the claim, because he knew his charge to have always been very interested in humans. It was the very reason why a Noble like her had decided to save him in the first place.

 ** _No no no!_ He had been severely injured, about to loss his limbs, but he hadn't - _couldn't_ die yet! He still had things to do, places to go, revenge to take. **

**Ciel gnashed his teeth, tears starting to fall from his eyes in despair, mixing with the iron of the blood on his face. He struggled to get up, but his muscle wouldn't even twitch and no matter how hard he tried.**

 _ **Painpainpain - can't**_ ** _die!_ Ciel squeezed his eyes tight and chanted a mantra in his head. As long a he could still feel pain, then he was alive - a proof that he was still on his last breath and _living_. **

**A pair of black shoes appeared within his sight when he tried to keep himself awake. He hadn't known where the strength came from, but he was able to raise his head in that moment, meeting with sparkling midnight blue eyes.**

 **"You're really red." The petite girl - no, she should be a demon but the look of the horns and the twirling spear-headed tail (that he would later learn that to be one of the traits that a Noble posses, just like the silver hair.) She knelt down, not at all minding that her doll-like blue dress was getting stained with dirt and blood and looked curiously at Ciel in that child-like innocent of hers. He had wondered, for a brief moment, why she had looked so innocent - so _pure_ despite who she was.** **"Answer me, why are humans' blood red?"**

 **Her tone had been one of authority, no offering any rights of refusal as if it was a given that everyone must obey her words. A trait that was no doubt drilled into their the bones of those in power, Ciel spat mentally. How he hated those aristocrats and their so-called everything should revolve around them. If it hadn't been for them, his family -**

 **"You're taking so long to answer," The demon'said almost lazily as her tail flickered back and forth. She tilted her head the the side, sizing Ciel's current predicament. "Is it because you're dying?"**

 **Ciel very much wanted to scream at the demon for stating the obvious, but he couldn't even _talk_ much less shout. Although he didn't say anything in the end, the demon still got the message through the ire in his eyes.**

 **"Then... if I were to save you," The petite demon stood up, her silver hair a stark contrast to the night, and a grin stretched slowly across her lips as her eyes lit up like the starry night. "Would you tell me why humans' blood is red?"**

"Miss Lu is but a child in nature," Ciel said, coming back from his memory and staring straight at the humans before him. "I rather not have her be influenced by the darker side of human beings."

Right at this time, Ciel, Ara, and Eun directed their attention towards the direction Lu had flew, sensing the abnormality.

Ciel's eyes constricted as he rushed off.

"Wait," Elsword hollered, then turned towards Eun and Ara. "What just happened?"

Ara frowned, brows knitted in worry. "It seems… Lu has been exposed."

.

.

.

Luck hadn't been on their side, Ciel lamented as the sole of his shoes screeched to a halt after tanking an attack from the ginormous robot - the Marine logo on its arm spoke of its origin loud and clear. When Lu flew, she just so happened to land herself into the nest that was the Marine Stronghold of Elder. Her presence triggered the the marines' alert, especially after the aforementioned robot announced her race for the world to hear.

When Ciel got reached Lu, the stronghold was already in chaos with clashes of weapons, guns, and laser beams. He then joined Lu in dealing with the rest of the humans, before turning to the robot.

"Dammit," Lu gritted her teeth, wiping the dark blue blood that was trickling out of the small cut that grazed her cheek with her not-demon arm. Her appearance had long reverted back to its original form with the horns, short pointed ears, and slit pupils that signified her Demon bloodline. The pointed tail , the four-pointed star-slit pupils, and silver hair told of her status among Demons, while her demonic right arm represented her power. The remnant ribbons of blue energy circled her from the punched she just used by did nothing against the robot "What is that blasted thing made of?!"

Ciel did not answer, as he had to move away from an arm thrust. His pupils slit into into the shape of four-pointed stars as well, letting the his Demon blood have rein over his human one. He jumped onto the giant robot's arm and ran along it as he withdrew both of his blade-guns. His intention was to strike that orb that was on its chest - thinking that might be its core.

However, before he could get close, he had to fend off the other arm that came his way.

"Ciel!" Lu exclaimed, shocked as her caretaker was send flying against the wall.

"I'm... alright," Ciel answered somewhat weakly as he landed back on his feet. Although he had been strengthened via his Demon blood, that blow still hurt like hell. If not for the the Demon's strong defenses and fast recovery rate, Ciel surmised that he would come out with more than just a few broken ribs.

Laughter rang out through the hall, caught the demon duo's undivided attention. From the second level balcony of this huge, metallic room came an elderly man donned in prestige white and blue. A tell-tale sign that the old man has a rather high rank among the Marines.

"The capabilities of Demons are far more interesting than I thought! Especially..." A sinister smile curled under the old man's mustache, his eyes landed on Lu. "Nasod Inspector, capture them! Especially the female! That's a species of Demons I haven't used in my experiments."

Ciel's eyes dilated as the robot's core gleamed from gold to blue to red. He could already conclude that this Marine Stronghold was performing unethical experiments on Demons, and many of Lu's kins have fallen into this man's hand. What made his fear even worse was that his charge was this high ranked Marine's next target!

"Miss Lu!" Ciel raced to his charge's side. "We need to leave this place, _now_!"

"But Ciel!" Lu was glaring at the old man. "Didn't you hear him? My people are in his hands!"

"Miss Lu..."

"Ciel," Lu's now midnight blue eyes looked sternly at Ciel. "Even if the Demons have exiled me, I am still a Noble of my race. I have to carry the responsibilities of one."

Ciel hated this side of Lu. Even if she had fallen because of her tribe - because of her _family -_ she was still adamant in shoulder the responsibilities she was born with. This righteous side of Lu really did not allow her to fit in with her kind.

In his opinion, those Demons could die for all he cared, but Lu was his master. There were times when the master and servant were nominal, however, when the time calls for it, Lu's innate sovereignty left Ciel powerless.

"... as you wish, Miss Lu." Ciel ended up sighing in defeat as both of them faced the Nasod Inspector like that time they had faced the entire Demon race.

* * *

.

.

.

"Haha, Elsword, yer face is all green!"

"Shut up Lu!"

Ciel pried over his eyes from where he was napping on the upper part of the deck. He lazily glanced down at his charge laughing at their captain's expense while Ara was checking the inventories with the twins, Ariel and Luriel, Raven was at the wheel, and Chung was doing a routined inspection of the equipment they have onboard.

As to why his charge and him ended up on this pirate ship of the Elprirates - as they were called - well... back when they were heavily injured while battling the Nasod Inspector, the old man, Wally - as Ciel figured out later - called for reinforcements in both humans and robots. Lu and Ciel had to split their attention between the Marine army, which had depleted their stamina faster than before.

The scent of blood, despite their firm self-control, stimulated the Demon blood in both Lu and Ciel - especially Lu because hers was much more pure - making them energy than they wanted to. The true nature of Demons were ones who thirst for blood along with destruction. Even though Nobles were more intelligent than the average Demons, they weren't an exception to a Demon's instincts - though they were able maintain a shred of rationality when it happens. It was a fatal weakness for Demons, because they would loose their sense of self and their intelligence were no better than the average animal, unless, of course, they attained a higher power.

When they were about to be done in by their own instincts, Elsword and his group barged into the battle zone and turned the entire course of events around.

Ciel still remembered the conversation between them when Elsword invited him and his charge to his crew.

 **"You're not afraid of us demons?" Lu inquired with childishness innocence like that night Ciel had met her. The blood that stained her clothes and her skin, the dead bodies of Marines and scraps of metal around her, however, told a different story. As she stood among the pile of corpse, she seemed like a true Demon ruler, and Ciel behind her was her vassal.**

 **"Demons, Elves, Humans, Magicians, I honestly don't really care," Elsword grinned. "As long as you're willing, then we'll have an adventure that'll last a life time."**

 **"A life time huh..." Lu mumbled, then giggled as she shook Elsword's hand. "Don't** **renege on your promise, human."**

A life time was long or short, it all depended on the race. Ciel looked towards the sky where the seagulls hovered, searching for prey to catch. He wondered if Lu had been intentional on that part.

After all, a human's life span was far shorter than that of any other race.

"Ciel!" Lu hollered from below, waving both her arms over her head. "Get ready ta fight! There's an enemy ship comin'!"

"Yes, Miss Lu." Ciel decided not to ponder over these things. As long as his charge was carefree and far away from their troubles. then he was fine with the life of a pirate. Especially one where he will treasure these crew members like the family he had long lost and watch as it grew to not only include Humans, Demons, and Beasts among its ranks, but also Elves, Nasods, Magicians, and more - with varying identities ranging from captains of other ships to priests to royalties to even marines.

It was only then did Ciel understand why Lu had such strict requirements when looking for a pirate crew to join.

The Elpirates, were, indeed, not conventional by any standards that wasn't ' _Elpirates'_.

* * *

 **Okay, it's been a long time since I updated this one haha...**

 **Anyways** **... I started off the story with a pirate based background but then it... uh... somehow turned into something else? It's still about pirates at its roots though... I think.**

 **Happy reading! ~ヾ(＾∇＾)**


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